Spring flowers by a tree trunk bathing in sun

Spring is in the air and we have good news to share!

The first piece of good news is that Andreas Barkman, expert in Sustainable Finance at the European Environmental Agency (EEA) and a dedicated professional in many capacitites have will act as chairman of the board in Mistra BIOPATH.

Andreas brings a wealth of experience in environmental policy, governance frameworks and management. His expertise related to combatting climate change and biodiversity loss aligns seamlessly with the objectives of Mistra BIOPATH. He will play a pivotal role in advancing Mistra BIOPATH's mission to transform the financial system into a driver for halting and reversing biodiversity loss.”

A handshake for biodiversity in the Gothenburg region

Although there is much talk about cutting back on the ambitions to further the green transition and simplify regulations on sustainability reporting and disclosure, there are many large enterprises and organisations that have realised that there is no way back and that the future wellbeing of planet, people and profit is about caring for our ecosystems and prevent loss of biodiversity. Read more about the encouraging initiative Bee-Go in which MISTRA BIOPATH engage with representatives from academia, business and the City of Gothenburg.

There seems to be more focus on biodiversity than ever before in Sweden with the first Swedish Biodiversity Symposium to be held in the fall and a full day conference by Dagens Industri in the end of April. I hope to see many of you at these events and of course at our own Spring Programme meeting later in May!

Susanne Arvidsson, Mistra BIOPATH Programme Director

Susanne Arvidsson portrait image. Photo Louise Larsson

Portrait image Andreas Barkman chairman of Mistra BIOPATH

Andreas Barkman, EEA Expert on Sustainable Finance

Welcome Andreas Barkman, Chairman for Mistra BIOPATH board
“I am really looking forward to working with BIOPATH's very strong and multidisciplinary team addressing some of our most important future questions on how we can protect and conserve biodiversity through better integration into decision-making in industry and the financial sector. Read more here

"Bee-Go means that together we will help protect and enhance biodiversity for a sustainable urban environment, better health for residents and increased resilience to climate change. It is inspiring to see the commitment of the parties involved, and I believe that this initiative is very good for residents and businesses as well as for the environment," said Viktor Elliot, WP 2 leader BIOPATH and a driving force of the handshake initiative.

Bee-Go a handshake for promoting biodiversity

The City of Gothenburg and four major companies in the region - AstraZeneca, Skanska, Vectura fastigheter and Volvo Cars - want to take action to promote biodiversity and ecosystem services. On 20 February, the partners signed a joint declaration of intent, a handshake, in which each player commits to implementing biodiversity actions.

"The interaction between academia and industry is important, We can contribute evidence and tools, help to separate the small from the big and be a watchdog on simplifications and greenwashing. For me, collaboration with the business community is about making a difference and giving researchers insight into how different organisations work in practice, said Henrik Smith WP 1 leader, BIOPATH.

Each actor will set two targets, which will be measurable and contribute to real improvements in biodiversity and ecosystem services.

Masterstudenter Jennie Utterberg och Hanna Kysela

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Master´s students blog from Brazil

For their joint master thesis, Jennie Utterberg and Hanna Kysela, School of Business, Economics and Law, University of Gothenburg, have been in Brazil for a field study on how financial strategies for conservation and restoration of tropical forests work in practice.

Jens Christiansen, Postdoc WP3 (LU)

Welcome Jens! Who are you and what is your research area?

I am investigating the role between state and market in the case of biodiversity finance. This includes examining concrete cases where the state relies on private finance for achieving its biodiversity goal. Furthermore, I study the demand side of biodiversity financing by examining citizens’ preferred financing instruments. My previous research has examined how biodiversity finance is expanding into marine environments in the case of the Blue Economy. I completed my PhD in Economic Geography at Lancaster University and my MSc in Global History at London School of Economics and Political Science.

Josefin Winberg, Postdoc WP1 (LU)

Welcome Josefin! Who are you and what is your research area?

In my research I analyse the available methods, tools, and metrics for biodiversity and climate assessments. I also evaluate the consequences of different climate and biodiversity strategies from an environmental and ecological perspective. I'm particularly interested in how we can recognise and handle the synergies and trade-offs between climate and biodiversity actions and assessments to ensure sustainable development and halt the loss of biodiversity. I have my study background in Physical Geography (Bsc), Biology and Environmental Science (Msc, PhD) from Lund and Gothenburg University.

UNDP and UNEP launch the Cali fund at COP16.2 in Rome

The Cali Fund will receive contributions from private sector companies that commercially utilize digital sequence information (DSI) - genetic data from plants, animals or microorganisms found in nature. This innovative approach aligns with the principles of equitable benefit-sharing, ensuring that industries benefiting from nature’s genetic resources contribute a fair share of their revenue or profits back to biodiversity protection. Read more at the BIOFIN website.

Cover of the magazine Biodiverse 1/25 showing wetland area

Biodiverse magazine highlights restoration

What will the new EU nature restoration regulation mean for Sweden? A group of experts tackle this question in the latest issue of Biodiverse - the popular science journal from the SLU Centre for Biodiversity.

It took many negotiating turns. But this summer, the new EU nature restoration regulation was finally adopted. It now applies as law throughout the EU and Sweden has a year and a half to develop a national roadmap for the work.

IPBES reports reveal huge opportunities (EU)

According to two new reports by the IPBES, immediate action to address the biodiversity crisis could unlock massive business and innovation opportunities, generating $10 trillion and supporting 395 million jobs worldwide by 2030.

Conversely, delaying action on biodiversity goals by even a decade could double the cost of acting now and delaying action on climate change adds at least $500 billion per year in additional costs.